Inspiration: Spain Edition

This picture has nothing to do with the post. I just loved it so much I decided to put it here.

I’m working on a new project and have been looking for examples of sanctuaries, places of worship, and sacred spaces. It is both fortuitous and serendipitous that I find myself in southern Spain because, apparently, this is where the world keeps all that stuff. This region marks the geographic convergence of three cultures: the Jews, the Catholics, and the Moors. From what I understand, the history is quite fraught between them, with one group invading and stealing strongholds from another, only then to be invaded and stolen from in return. Pardon my language, but it’s just your typical That’s mine! No it’s mine! bullshit.

The upside for us is that you can’t throw a stone without hitting one of the most spectacular cathedrals, chapels, churches, forts, mosques, or basilicas you’ve ever seen. Even the tiniest villages have their own humble churches, which by American standards would be considered cathedrals.

Observe.

The neighborhood church in a tiny mountain village

Don’t be alarmed. Just some apostles in a box.

The nave of the cathedral in Granada

Oh, the Marys here are so beautiful and so anguished.

The attention to detail is inspiring

Just your average pipe organ the size of my house

The dripping maximalism of the Alhambra

Every surface of the Moorish-influenced palace is completely over-the-top.

The clean lines of a new church to give a much needed rest to the eyes of this minimalist